I received a free week of classes after responding to a Facebook post from the studio. I was hopeful this would become my yoga studio because the location is convenient and I love having a reason to go to downtown Winter Garden
To be honest, I really didn't care for the classes I went to - both 9:30 am classes with same instructor. While I still consider myself a beginner, having only practiced yoga for a few months on a regular basis, the beginner class was way too easy for me, even with a very painful hip injury.
While I appreciated all the instruction and information the instructor provided, in my opinion she took so much time explaining how to do each pose between each move that I never felt like I got in a "flow". There was a lot of start/stop throughout the class - so much that I found myself getting irritated and timing how long she talked before going into a new pose. Most of the time it was between 60-90 seconds of explanation while either sitting or standing before moving on.
I tried the intermediate class thinking it would be different, but I felt it was pretty much the same. (Same instructor.)
Maybe it's because I'm used to taking classes with different instructors in other cities before moving back here - I've taken Vinyasa Flow, Power Yoga, and Flex and Flow classes where the instructors cued the moves and provide instruction on how form should be while IN the poses. I've also taken restorative yoga as well as Yin and meditative yoga classes that were a much slower pace, but I never felt like I was just waiting for the next move. I'm accustomed to yoga classes being more "fluid" and I just felt like the constant start/stop made me frustrated and that I was not utilizing my time well.
The studio itself was nice - nothing fancy: wood floors with exposed brick walls. They provide props like blocks, bolsters and blankets. There isn't a restroom actually in the studio. You have to walk out the back and down a hallway to what I assume is a shared restroom for several businesses in the building.
The demographic for the morning class was mostly Myself, I am 51, but have been pretty active most my life. women in their 50-60's and they were of all fitness levels. Everyone was friendly and it seemed like many of them were friends. Some go out for coffee after class. It seemed like the other attendees in the classes were content, so maybe I just have different expectations based on my past yoga experiences.
One of the owners did reach out to me to see how I did with my free week. I shared most of what's on this feedback with her and she said if I was looking for Vinyasa Flow type classes, their studio definitely wasn't for me.
If you're a beginner with practicing yoga this studio may be a good fit for you. If you're someone like me, who has been for and active and attend group exercises classes often, it may not be a good fit. This was just my experience. read more